DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford crossed the line to take a dominant win in tricky wet conditions during the F2 British GP Feature Race, full report and results below.
During Qualifying, it was ART GP’s Victor Martins who emerged on top. Edging Rodin’s Alex Dunne and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford to pole, the Frenchman had a task at hand to finally convert his Qualifying success into a race result. Additionally, to note, Rodin’s Amaury Cordeel will start the race from the back of the grid after he lost his fastest lap time in Qualifying for causing a red flag when he spun.
On Sprint Race Saturday, Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli finally claimed his long-awaited victory—his first in four years. PREMA Racing’s Sebastian Montoya and Fornaroli’s teammate Roman Stanek crossed the line to complete the podium. More misfortunes struck Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic when he struggled to get off the line during the formation lap. After a difficult run of races, he had finally qualified inside the Top 10—giving him a strong chance to score points. However, the weekend isn’t over yet, and the Swede has one more shot at points in today’s Feature Race. The Sprint Race delivered plenty of action as drivers fiercely battled for points.
Now, with attention turning to today’s Feature Race, its Martins and Dunne who line up together on the front-row once again.
Delayed start due to torrential rainfall
Although the rain had eased, the spray continued to affect drivers visibility. As a result, the formation lap was delayed. Having completed one lap, drivers headed back into the pits once more. Drivers swapped to a new set of wet tyres to scrub them in, in case they needed to use that set during a pit stop. As everyone made their way to the grid, the weather started to clear up.
Lindblad jumped onto the radio to feedback a possible tyre strategy call for his race. Expecting the track to dry up quickly, the young Briton told Campos it was possible that slicks could come in play near the closing stages of the race.
However, on the front-row of the grid, Rodin mechanics worked busily around Dunne’s car who had its engine covers off. Once race control declared it was safe to race, it was soon confirmed that the race will proceed with a standing start.
Lights out and away we go for the Feature Race at the F2 British GP!
It was a slow launch off the line for Martins, allowing Crawford to jump ahead and claim the lead. Following closely behind, Dunne maintained his position in P2 as he got a solid launch. Around Copse corner, Lindblad made a bold move on Luke Browning around the outside. Meanwhile, into Brooklands, Fornaroli lunged down the inside of Maini to move a place up. Into Stowe, Browning and Lindblad go side by side as they continue to scrap for track position. Onto the main straight, Browning finally got the move done to claim P8.
Headed into Lap 4, all drivers settled into a rhythm. In the pit lane, Cian Shields was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for a starting infringement.
Meanwhile, Browning was on the move. The Briton lunged down the inside of Richard Verschoor to claim P7. Up next, Beganovic made his way past Verschoor to claim P8. On Lap 5, both Hitech drivers looked to have great pace. Beganovic saw an opportunity to lunge down the inside of Montoya as he climbed up another spot.
Fornaroli continued to appear in Lindblad’s mirrors as he attempted several more moves. As the fight continued for the last points-scoring positions, Pepe Martí had brought himself into the fight from P19.
Browning on a charge
Further ahead, Browning had blistering pace as he was clocking lap times five to six tenths faster than the drivers ahead of him. By Lap 9 of the race, drivers had started to go off the racing line in search of wet patches to cool their tyres down. Side-by-side into Maggots and Becketts, Stanek ran wide—opening the opportunity for Joshua Dürksen and Browning to get past. Following his teammate through once again, Beganovic was next to make a move on Stanek.
Lunging down the inside of Dürksen, Browning attempted a move on the Paraguayan but failed and had to back out. As the pair continued to scrap, Beganovic had made his way closer than ever to Browning and Dürksen. Headed into Luffield, Browning finally made his move on Dürksen to finally claim P4. Montoya charged down the inside of Stanek as they headed into Club corner, before he tucked in behind Stanek once again.
Meanwhile, Dürksen was noted by the stewards for moving under braking. A few laps later, the stewards decided no further action was needed. Down Wellington straight, with DRS enabled now, Browning had made his way to the back of Martins.
Slicks or wets?
Teams and their drivers were divided on the decision for slicks as the track started to dry up. Whilst team’s pit walls leaned towards the idea of switching onto slicks, many drivers were not keen. Around the outside of Martins in Luffield, Browning was through to claim the final step of the podium provisionally. Meanwhile, out in front, Crawford and Dunne built a comfortable six second gap.
In comparison to the Top 2, however, Browning was seven tenths faster than the Top 2. As 9 laps remained, Browning was definitely in contention for the win. Since then, Dunne had closed the gap to Crawford. The Irishman was now within DRS range and striking distance of the American.
Lindblad and Maini first into pits
Into the pits first was Lindblad for another set of wets. However, deciding to take the gamble, Maini was the first driver on slicks. Following behind, Gabriele Minì was another driver on slicks. With cold tyres out of the pits, the Italian drove straight into the back of Ollie Goethe. As 6 laps remained, Browning headed into the pits for another set of wets. A yellow flag flew for Minì as he was now parked further up and retired from the race. A virtual safety-car was deployed as it was marginal decision for Crawford who made his way into the pits. You cannot complete a mandatory stop under the VSC unless you’ve made it into pit lane before it’s deployed.
Parked up on the side of the track, Stanek marked the second retirement of the race.
On Lap 25, a safety car was now deployed. After staying out for extra laps, Dunne headed into the pits. As a result of staying out, the Irishman remained P2. In an attempt to undercut Dunne, Browning was unlucky to miss out as the Irishman managed to slot back infront of him. Rain started pouring down once more as the final laps of the race approached.
2 lap sprint to the end
The safety car ended on Lap 27. As 2 laps remained, the fight for all three spots on the podium was well and truly on. Acing the safety car restart, Crawford launched ahead. Meanwhile, Dürksen greedy on the throttle spun his car around on the main straight as he lost it out of the final corner.
This allowed Montoya and other drivers by. However, suffering from front-wing damage, Martins dropped down the field as everyone made his way pass the Frenchman. A safety car was then deployed for Dürksen’s car. This meant the race ended under safety-car conditions. The stewards handed Minì a ten-second penalty for his incident with Goethe.
After a brilliant launch off the line, it was Crawford who crossed the line victorious to claim his third win of the season. It remains unclear whether Crawford’s pit entry before the Virtual Safety Car was acceptable, so the current classification remains provisional.
Provisional results for F2 British GP Feature Race:
- J. Crawford
- A. Dunne
- L. Browning
- D. Beganovic
- S. Montoya
- L. Fornaroli
- R. Verschoor
- A. Lindblad
- P. Martí
- R. Villagomaz
- O. Goethe
- J. Bennett
- M. Esterson
- C. Shields
- R. Miyata
- K. Maini
- A. Cordeel
- S. Meguetounif
- V. Martins [DNF]
- J. Dürksen [DNF]
- R. Stanek [DNF]
- G. Minì [DNF]
